Regret Or Content?

by John R. SedivycloseAuthor: John R. Sedivy Name: John R. Sedivy
Email: john@capecodbranding.com
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How do you feel about your life? Do you feel that you have not had enough time and that you have not lived life to the fullest? Or do you feel that you have taken full advantage of life’s opportunities that have come your way? In short, are you living with regret or with content?

Merely Passing Time Or Making The Most Of It?
Consider the following from Viktor Frankl, the author of “Man’s Search For Meaning”:

“The pessimistic resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away from its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back.”

There are at least two important points that you should take away from this passage. First, I have heard that at the end of life, a person regrets not what they have done, but what they have failed to do – missed opportunities. If you truly think about what you are doing each day, and attack each problem that comes your way with vigor and zeal while continuing to move to the next challenge – there will be little to regret at the end of your life.

The second aspect is the value of reflection. Take a little time each day to think or reflect upon what you did each day. What went well? What could have been improved upon? By considering each day and jotting down a few notes you can work to improve your life gradually over time. This is a simple yet effective technique. It may be difficult to get into the groove at first, but like any habit, it will come with ease over time.

Results Of A Fully Lived Life
Frankl addresses the results of a fully lived life below:
“He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him? “No, thank you,” he will think. “Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, though these are things which cannot inspire envy.”

I can attest to the truth of the preceding statements. The path I have taken in life has not always been easy, however it has been rewarding, sometimes painful. There is one thing that I can say with certainty – I would not care to repeat any part of it. That is the beauty of living each day to the fullest – the best is yet to come!

Consider your life and if you are living with regret or content!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

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